June 9, 2008
Japan's agricultural cooperative sees inevitable feed price hikes
The Japanese National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations (Zen-Noh) said prices for its formulated livestock feed will be higher by JPY4,5000 per tonne on average after the April-June period.
The price increase has been driven by higher prices of key ingredients such as corn and soymeal, the cooperative said.
Rates of increase will vary according to regions and types of livestock. On average, the blended feed will be priced at around JPY61,900 per tonne.
As prices charged by Zen-Noh serve as the benchmark for the domestic market, it is expected all similar feed prices will rise.
Japans' stock feed price increases this year have already been reflected in higher retail prices for beef, chicken and pork in local supermarkets.
More increases are forecast due to world shortages of feed grains.
Furthermore, the feed shortage is also affecting fish producers, with many aquaculture companies going out of business due to higher aquafeed costs, up between 20 percent to 30 percent in the last 12 months.
US$1 = JPY105.25 as of June 9, 2008